<p>From reading here, it seems families who have been thru the process think that they should have applied to more than 3 schools, some say as many as 10. What's the average number of schools applied to and what is doable? </p>
<p>We filled out 6 applications, 2 for local day schools and 4 for BS, but it nearly killed us (my spouse, and child and me).</p>
<p>Yet, now that we are awaiting results, I wish I had applied to a couple more. What is reasonable and what is excess? We are getting ready to apply for child #2.</p>
<p>Also, do sibs usually get admitted to the same school? I’m sure it’s not a guarantee, but is it easier or a stretch or does it matter at all if a sib is already there?</p>
<p>I am a kid, and I applied to 7. It was very doable, and 10 wouldn’t have been a major issue. Having a sibling at a school is very helpful if they are good for the school and reflect well on your family.</p>
<p>My son applied to 5 two years ago. My daughter applied to 3 this year. I would not change either number.<br>
Three for most may be too few, but I would no way increase to more than 6. Just my opinion.<br>
If you chose a good mix, that should give you options (even with needing FA).
And yes, a sibling of a current student is a nice hook to have.</p>
<p>We started with about 25 schools…just to look at view books and what was out there.</p>
<p>Got down to 15 serious considerations, looked at web sits, course offerings, EC.</p>
<p>I narrowed it down to 10 and daughter decided to only do 7 applications (I allowed that to be her decision alone, but one had to be an all-girl school).</p>
<p>Out of 7, accepted 5, waitlisted 1, not-selected 1. </p>
<p>Note, we applied at 3 tier one schools, but we didnt feel that they were a reach, 2 accepted, 1 w/l. What I considered a safety but was my d 2nd choice did not select her.</p>
<p>I honestly believe, even now after all has been said, all 7 were the right “fit”.</p>
<p>I applied to five. Unfortunately I didn’t even think of it till December 23rd. It was quite difficult, but I’m glad I applied to so many. I would actually recommend applying to more if you don’t visit (I almost ended up with a disaster).</p>
<p>We applied to 6. To do more, we felt, would be a burden on the school in terms of pulling together recommendations and filling out all the required paperwork. It was after narrowing down from a bigger list.</p>
<p>I applied to 7. It was not as stressful as I would have thought - I actually wish I could have applied to more. If I could do it over, I would add Andover, Thacher, Groton, Hotchkiss, Loomis Chaffee, and St. George’s to my list.</p>
<p>I applied to 7 as well, but only actually filled out 6 applications in the end. I applied to Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Hotchkiss Choate, St. Pauls, and Lawrencville. I never finished my Lawrenceville application because I simply did not like the school (AT ALL!) when I visited. I am happy with how many I applied to, though now that I look at it I wish I had applied to a couple different type of schools. For example, maybe one all girls school, or one in California, like Thacher. Oh well, I got into my first choice, so I can’t complain!</p>
<p>Our oldest son applied 3/3. All history now but I never did and still don’t feel it was a sufficient number of schools.<br>
Second son applied 2/2. Needless to say I was not happy much less comfortable with that number. Proven wrong for a second time but it was difficult for everyone come decision time. He decided to blaze his own trail.</p>
<p>I say 5 to 6. I’m not a big believer in reaches to the effect that it becomes a 3-4 year academic struggle. As for safety’s, as long as one is content and can imagine themselves attending then there’ll be no regrets. IMO apply to schools you feel will be the right for your child. If they play an instrument now, do you see them still playing at such and such because the emphasis on sports or peer pressure? IMO playing an instrument is a big deal but we’ll save that for another thread. Since this is the Parents section, I will venture out on a limb and say as that much as we want all this to be our child’s decision, you are still driving the boat. Of course that’s contrary to what I said in the beginning but I was outnumbered and proven wrong both times.</p>
<p>We have a great day school HS option (and the kids already attend its lower/middle arm), so our list is pretty short…I think in the end we’ll only apply to 3-4 (all “top tier”, FWIW) each very different from the other in size/POV. Doesn’t seem to make sense to us to apply to multiple schools from similar molds…unless you really want to go to specific type of school (ex. large, co-ed, Harkness-style).</p>
<p>If none of the boarding options works out for daughter #1, we’ll be happy to have another 4 years with her at home.</p>
<p>My son and I studied about 20 schools, and he applied to 10. Once he completed a few apps, finishing the others became easy. The real time burner was visiting all of the schools to which he applied. School hopping was great fun, but time consuming and expensive.</p>
<p>Because I believe that there is safety in numbers, 10 was a good, albeit bit pricey, number for us.</p>
<p>SevenDads has a good point to consider in the number of schools–do you have a solid option at home or is BS a must. If BS is a must, then apply to a number of schools 6-10 (including a range) because like college applications, no school is a shoe in for any candidate. If there’s a good option at home, shoot for only 2-3 best fit schools and if it doesn’t work out, be thankful you have your D/S home for another 4 years. If it turns out that you compromise on a school that is less than a great fit and both parents and child are not really enthusiastic about the choice, it can be a very rough 4 years.</p>
<p>My “disaster” was a combination of that I didn’t get in everywhere (unsuprising) and that I decided I just didn’t like some schools during the re-visit day.</p>